S.F. Mission High School students and their parents attend a meeting to learn about filling out college financial aid forms.

Photo: Sarah Rice, Special To The Chronicle

S.F. Mission High School students and their parents attend a...

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Financial aid counselor Nancy Jodaitis, from San Francisco State, explains how to apply at Mission High School in S.F.

Photo: Sarah Rice, Special To The Chronicle

Financial aid counselor Nancy Jodaitis, from San Francisco State,...

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Nativadad Lopez uses an earpiece to listen to a live translator during the talk.

Photo: Sarah Rice, Special To The Chronicle

Nativadad Lopez uses an earpiece to listen to a live translator...

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Mission High School held a Cash for College night in San Francisco, Calif., Wednesday, January 23, 2013, where high school seniors and their parents could learn how to fill out financial aid forms.

Photo: Sarah Rice, Special To The Chronicle

Mission High School held a Cash for College night in San Francisco,...

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at a Cash for College night at Mission High School in San Francisco, Calif., Wednesday, January 23, 2013. High school seniors and their parents could attend to learn more about filling out financial aid forms.

At this time every year, parents of college-bound 12th-graders pack high school auditoriums and cafeterias to learn about the confusing and confounding process of applying for financial aid.

This year, undocumented immigrants are eager to find a seat.

For the first time, those families will be able to apply for state financial aid under the controversial California Dream Act.

While federal funding is still out of reach, the state measure now allows children who were brought to the country illegally, but who attended a school in the state for at least three years to qualify for up to about $12,000 in Cal Grants to use toward college.

In San Francisco, district officials are holding meeting after meeting, in at least three languages, urging the families of every 12th-grader to fill out a form.

In prior years, about 60 percent of students completed the application for state or federal aid, and 90 percent of those who did ultimately went to college, said Maureen Carew, director of San Francisco Promise, which helps city students access higher education.

"That's why we're going for 100 percent - because we can," she said.

At Mission High School, there is at least one 17-year-old who is eager to help the district reach that goal.

Boost for top student

When Sharon was 12, her parents broke the law as they carried their two daughters into the United States from Mexico in search of a better life with greater opportunities.

They landed in San Francisco, where Sharon's mother worked as a babysitter and her father as a butcher at a meatpacking plant.

While her parents worked, Sharon kept her end of the bargain for that better life, learning English, excelling in school and dreaming of college.

Now a Mission High School senior, she has a 4.4 grade-point average, mentors younger students, does community service and plays soccer.

She did everything right, but until this year, that college dream was out of reach for her and others like her. Without a piece of paper saying they belonged here, they couldn't apply for financial aid, and without the help, couldn't afford a higher education.

"Many students that I know of didn't have this opportunity," said Sharon, who only wanted her first name used to protect her family. "They just gave up on their dream."

Scholarships typically require Social Security numbers, but even if they don't, there are one-time funds that might pay for a semester or maybe a year, said Mission Principal Eric Guthertz.

40% of class undocumented

And that meant that students like Sharon couldn't complete their degree.

"This is the girl this law was passed for," Guthertz said. "She is something else."

And there are many more like her, he said. It's unclear how many students qualify or will apply for funds under the Dream Act.

In San Francisco, district officials don't ask students whether they are here legally. Guthertz estimates that as much as 40 percent of a given senior class at Mission is undocumented immigrants.

"We often hear and use the phrase that our youth is our nation's greatest resource," Leno said. "Prior to the Dream Act, we were not making use of a significant portion of our greatest resource. It made no sense ... to be so wasteful."

Critics said the allure of college money for undocumented immigrants would only draw more people to illegally cross the border, while costing the state more than $50 million more a year.

In San Francisco, district officials are pushing to get every high school senior to fill out either the Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA) or the alternative Dream Act application.

Some fear system

The Dream Act is not just for undocumented residents, but also citizens or legal residents who are going to school in California but don't meet state residency requirements.

The deadline to apply for state financial aid is March 2.

At Washington High School, Principal Ericka Lovrin said she fears many undocumented immigrant parents will be scared to fill out a government form requiring all their personal information.

"It's about trusting the system," she said. "I think people are a little resistant to trust this system."

Yet, Sharon will be waiting by the mailbox for her Cal Grant award in March and then college acceptances in May.